Google+ Positive Psychologist: December 2013

Leader

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Worship Christ, the newborn King!



Saints before the altar bending,
    Watching long in hope and fear,
Suddenly the Lord, descending,
     In His temple shall appear:
Come and worship! Worship Christ, the newborn King!
                                 
                                       (James Montgomery, 1771-1854)

Monday, December 23, 2013

Teach more


I for one believe that a kid should learn at his own pace and learn well. Beyond the books, beyond the constrained syllabus.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Drop that apple


Organic gardening is a safe way to grow what you want. Be careful while buying vegetables and fruits. You never know what you are eating. 

Here is a beautiful article from http://www.treehugger.com/about the most toxic of fruits & vegetables and what you should be doing.

Dirty Dozen: The 12 to buy organic (in order of pesticide load, apples being the worst offenders).

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Sweet bell peppers
4. Peaches
5. Strawberries
6. Imported nectarines
7. Grapes
8. Spinach
9. Lettuce
10. Cucumbers
11. Domestic blueberries
12. Potatoes

How do we get out of this?

1. Opt for organic foods whenever possible
2. Have a small organic garden/hydrophonics in your balcony or terrace
3. Grow a community garden

Read the full article here: 
http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/top-12-toxic-fruits-and-vegetables.html

Monday, December 16, 2013

Monday Blues: Have fun


Walt Disney said - It's kind of fun to do the impossible. Would you find anything better than that? Every time naysayers and pessimists say it is impossible, you must find it challenging and worth fighting for.

The truth always wins. Go set out your targets on the highest peak and you are sure to achieve the impossible. Have fun this Monday, by doing the impossible.

Monday Blues: Educate


Aristotle hits the spot when he says, Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.

This monday, read something new, learn something new and educate yourself. Make this a daily habit to find out something new to keep your memory fresh and charged.


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

"Good" Morning!


I love reading www.stanleyonbible.com and this is a beautiful post I couldn't ignore.

Everyday we pass through so many situations where we are lured to show our nasty side (trust me it is there in both you and me) and it hurts both the sender and receiver. Stanley spells out a solution from the Bible.


God does not ignore what we speak when we are agitated with anger and agonizing in anguish. Rather He takes a serious view of it. The Book of Job vividly illustrates this point. What God said at the end of the story is a sober truth. He told Eliphaz, "I am angry with you and with your two friends, for you have not been right in what you SAID about Me, as My servant was" (Job 42:7).

What lies beyond death and grave is the greatest strengthener of our feeble hands and weak knees. We have every reason to be agitated and lose patience in suffering if there is no life after death. How many long hours we sometimes wait in visa issuing offices to travel overseas! How much we rejoice when the visa is finally stamped on our passports! How much more patient should we be today for the glory land we would enter tomorrow! "What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory God will give us later" (Rom 8:18).

When we lose patience in any situation, virtues leave us one by one, and vices lift up their ugly heads. We suddenly realize that we have spoken detestable words which are too many to be taken back. If we are quiet and confident, we can declare, "God knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).

Think of the words of impatience poured out of our mouths while suffering in the past. If God had reciprocated our anger and impatience, would He have delivered us from our problems? Waves are nothing to those who regularly bathe in the sea. Likewise let us get accustomed to live with sufferings. See what Paul has written in Romans 5:3-5: "We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us to learn patience. And patience develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. And this expectation will not disappoint us!"

The disease of Job was awful. He was dying daily without dying. But he knew that there was light after the tunnel, and life after death. This confidence gave birth to this song: "I know that my Redeemer lives... And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God!" (Job 19:25,26). This cannot be anything but the prophetic expectation of the glorified bodies which will be given to the children of God in the New Heaven and New Earth! Cheer up, dear Christian, your night will soon be over and there will be Dayspring!


Monday, December 9, 2013

Monday Blues: If only for a second, give some a chance to smile


Can you make someone smile today? How about giving them a chance to remember you? Carry a lot of positive energy with you and it will reflect in what you do and how you do.

People would remember you and your interactions than how or what you said to them. See this video I found online today. Isn't it wonderful to share your happiness? It reflects back to you.




Monday Blues: ACT


One of my favorite quotes from The Bible is in the book of Esther. 

“If you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise from another place” (Es 4:14)

Whenever there is a need to act, people shy away and don't take initiative. It is impossible to take action as I have seen people complaining that it is not in my job description. Now what is your job description? The same people take initiative when asking for hikes, raises and demanding they deserve more. I am all for higher returns but there should be a balance between what you sow and what you are reaping. If you sow less, you are bound to reap low.

Now will the work get effected if you are not acting? No. Someone will come up and take up the responsibility. So the deliverance will come and it will arise. Will you the leader or not is the question.

This Monday, rise up and shoulder the responsibility. Do not be silent. ACT.



Saturday, December 7, 2013

Shine bright like a diamond


I am mesmerized with Rihanna's beautiful song.

A pause for Madiba


Madiba is no more.

I am deeply calm. I don't know this feeling or the lack of it. I don't know if I should be happy or sad.

Happy for being born into a nation where I am not a slave, I am free to wake up on my own time, eat, rest, work, learn and raise a family. Where I am glad to know that my kid has a future. Sad because the man who fought all his life, like the Mahatma, is a nation where he was jailed but loved is no more.

And then I am super happy that his struggle is over and he emerged a winner. I am erupting with a joyous emotion of achievement where the world is not looking down on people anymore, the leaders need not be celebrated men of great valour, lineage but the common man like you and me.

This is a time of joy for one of the greatest sons of the soil went home to meet his father, to a place where there is no partiality, no injustice and absolute equality.

Rest in peace Madiba. You have fought well and won.

Pic is from here.

Friday, December 6, 2013

The unfair treatment experiment


How about treating with fairness? Well. Everyone seems to be doing that, so let us see how unfair treatment motivates and initiates action in your team/employees. The chimps don't know how to inhibit but the reaction is the same with humans too.


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

10 Current Psychology Studies Every Parent Should Know


Jeremy Dean is a psychologist and the author of PsyBlog and this is a gem of an article you must read.

1. Parents are happier than non-parents

2. Putting your child first is worth it

3. Helicopter parenting may be depressing

4. Avoid strict discipline

5. Regular bedtimes

6. Do the chores together

7. Limit infant TV viewing

8. Exercise boosts kids’ school performance

9. Dangers of intense mothering

10. Why siblings are so different

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Same view, different glasses

Found this post in a friend - Himanshu's blog.


 à¤œ़हिद शराब पीने दे मस्जिद में बैठ कर,
या वो जगह बता जहाँ खुदा नहीं.

Zahid sharab peene de masjid mein beth kar,
Yaa woh jagah bata jahan Khuda nahin..

- Mirza Ghalib
------------------
मस्जिद खुदा का घर है, पीने की जगह नहीं,
काफिर के दिल में जा, वहाँ खुदा नहीं.

Masjid khuda ka ghar hai, peeney ki jagha nahin,
Kaafir ke dil mein ja, Wahan khudaa nahin..

- Allama Iqbal
------------------
काफिर के दिल से आया हूँ मैं ये देखकर,
खुदा मौजूद है वहाँ, पर उसे पता नहीं.

Kaafir ke dil se aya hon mein yeh dekh kar,
Khuda maujood hai wahan, Par usey pata nahin..

- Ahmad Faraz
------------------

Monday, December 2, 2013

Monday Blues: Measure and motivate



One of the frequently bypassed or rather ignored factors is measuring. Measuring usage, productivity, value creation, contribution and risk. Most managers feel it is not important to measure as it only works int he negative. 

Ranking system is under fire these days as people feel discrimination should be minimized. But let me tell you, measuring is important. Measuring allows growth, correction, change and most important of all, it allows motivation. 


This Monday, spend time in measuring your team/individual contribution and ensure motivation stays high. After all it is a 80-20 principle. Ain't it?

Measure yourself, your contribution. Are you the best in what you do? If yes, take the bar higher. If not, time to start working.

Art is by Hugh MacLeod.


Sunday, December 1, 2013

Adapt